Few Recover Court Costs From County

Early this year, West Palm Beach resident Shea Tomlinson was arrested on charges that he had served alcoholic beverages after hours at T`s Lounge, a bar west of the city.

Tomlinson went to court and argued he hadn`t been tending bar when the charge was made. On Aug. 27, a Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge acquitted him.

In June 1984, Paul Sheridan, a detective in the Boynton Beach Police Department, was indicted on four counts of perjury.

He pleaded not guilty. Several months later, a jury agreed with him on three of the counts and dismissed the fourth.

Both Tomlinson and Sheridan had their name cleared. But both were forced to come up with the money to defend themselves. In Sheridan`s case, the defense amounted to thousands of dollars.

Now Tomlinson and Sheridan have joined a small but growing group who argue that since they were wrongly charged, the government should pick up the tab for their defense.

The bar originally paid Tomlinson`s costs but he said he still thought the government should be responsible for the fees.

``I feel if I got out of it (the charge) . . . I shouldn`t have to pay the court fees,`` Tomlinson said.

Last week, the Palm Beach County Commission agreed to pay what it cost Tomlinson to defend himself. The bill came to $111.94.

Earlier this year, the commission approved spending $2,629 to Paul Sheridan for his defense costs.

In the first eight months of this year, the commission spent almost $60,000 covering the costs of defendants who were acquitted of criminal charges or had the charges dismissed.

``Unless we can establish their guilt, they should at the very least get their cost back,`` County Commissioner Ken Spillias said before approving the payment for Tomlinson last week.

But Richard Lubin, a West Palm Beach attorney who represented Tomlinson, said that isn`t enough.

In neither Tomlinson`s nor Sheridan`s case did the commission agree to compensate the men for their attorney`s fees.

A state statute gives residents who are charged with a crime and later have the charges dropped or are found innocent the right to collect court costs from the county government.

But the law does not require the county to pay the defendant`s attorney fees.

``The problem is that the state can bring charges against anyone they want,`` Lubin said. ``They (defendants) should be able to get their attorney`s fees back if they are not guilty. That`s where the statute is weak.``

Lubin said he requests county compensation for the trial costs of every one of his clients who is acquitted.

``I`ve done thousands of them,`` he said. ``Every time I win a case I go in for the costs. Isn`t it only fair? The guy`s not guilty, why should he have to pay all that money?

``Sometimes the costs are higher than the attorney`s fees. You can spend thousands and thousands on a felony case,`` he said.

In defending himself against the felony perjury charges, Sheridan had to pay $170 for the service of subpoenas, about $1,400 in court-reporting fees and several hundred dollars in copying fees.

But Lubin said he is surprised more attorneys don`t request county compensation for clients who are cleared of criminal charges.

In the first eight months of this year, 409 defendants in Palm Beach County were acquitted or had charges against them dropped after trial in the county and circuit courts, according to records kept by the Court Administrator`s Office.

During that same period, fewer than 110 requested compensation for their costs from the county.

While the county has paid less than $60,000 to such defendants, Lubin said he has collected as much as $20,000 for his clients.

``Maybe some lawyers are lazy,`` he said.

Assistant County Attorney Maureen Cullen said many people probably don`t know of their right to receive compensation for court costs if they are cleared of criminal charges.

``You put a cloud over their reputation. You charge them. You make them go through the expense of hiring an attorney. This is the least the county can do,`` she said.

Cullen said the amount of money the county pays for such cases probably would increase significantly if more people knew about it.

``I wasn`t aware of it either until I got this job,`` she said, adding that in terms of county expenses: ``The less people that know about it the better.``